Heartfelt Confessions

David's POV 

I shouldn't have come here.

As the door slid open and Rosie stepped out to face me completely with a bewildered expression on her face, my mouth went dry and the speech I had so carefully practiced over the last couple of hours faded away, leaving me to stand there blinking like an idiot.

"Did you say Mr Crest? Uh, hello, earth to Rosie? Hellooooo…" A voice kept coming from the phone, sounding ecstatic

Rosie responded, "Um, Jess, something came up, but I'll call you back once I sort it out" and then ended the call. 

We stood there in silence, both of us looking like we had a lot to say, but neither knowing where to begin. After what seemed like it could have been forever but was probably even less than 5 minutes, I decided to break the ice. Looks like she had the same thought as me, though, because we spoke at the same time

"Rosie-"

"Mr Crest-"

This was going to be a long night.

"First off, just call me David". I was suddenly fascinated by the intricate design of her doorknob, although anything could have caught my fancy at this point. Swallowing a bit to make sense of my jumbled thoughts, I continued "I know you're wondering why I'm here, and honestly, I'm not sure where to start from." 

The bewilderment on her face was slowly turning to amusement. I've never been this nervous in a very long time. "The beginning works just fine, David."

Dear God. Was that a sneer? 

I closed my eyes, did a mental countdown, and when I got to one, I opened my eyes slowly, looked up from the doorbell and held her gaze, and said in a voice as clear as the New York sky was, "I love you."

Those three words were all it took for the tightness in my chest that had been threatening to tear me apart to dissipate, leaving me feeling lightheaded. And to think it took me this long to finally get it over with. 

It was Rosie's turn to stammer.

"I- But- You what?"

"I love you. I had been trying to fight my feelings for some time now, but that just left me feeling sad and broken, and- God, woman. I love you."

I paused to catch my breath and study her expression. The amusement was long gone now, replaced by something much more emotional, her eyes glistening with tears. She was wearing a free-form nightdress that hung well on her body, and her hair was in a messy bun, yet she still managed to look captivating.

She said nothing, however, so I decided to continue " I said nothing because I knew there was no way you could love me, and I couldn't stand to have my heart broken so soon after it healed." 

"Wait a minute" Something I said must have made her snap because there was a fiery look in her eyes, and her voice had a sudden edge to it "Had it ever occurred to you that I loved you? Had it ever occurred to you that I wanted you to love me? Did you ever stop to think for a minute that I wanted to be something more to you? Of course, it didn't because clearly you're too full of yourself and too stupid to see the signs."

Did she just call me stupid? Scratch that. Did she just say she loved me? It took all I had in me to stay still and keep a straight face as she fired on, every word carrying a good measure of pain.

"First you kissed me, and I thought to myself 'oh, maybe he does feel something for me', and then a few minutes after, you go back to your stiff-necked official ways. What was I supposed to make of that?"

"Rosie,I-"

"Don't even dare. I made up excuses for you, that you were just tired, that you just wanted to go home, all because I loved you. I took special effort in getting ready just to catch your attention, but you acted like I didn't even exist. 'Maybe he's still tired from yesterday,' I told myself, even though I didn't truly believe it. And then - And then - you push me off to your assistant like I was some kind of burden to you." She was hysterical at this point. "Then you disappear like it's nobody's business, only to show up at my doorstep telling me you love me? Oh please, Mr Crest" She spat.

"Let me explain, Rosie," I said frantically. 

This was not going the way I expected it to. I tried holding her shoulders to calm her down, but she pushed me with a force that made me blink in surprise. 

"Go on. Spin something. I'm listening" Christ. Who would have thought obedient secretary Rosie would ever talk to me like this?

"So. From the avoidance part. I was trying to protect you." Her eyebrows arched up at this. " You know the part you played in Sofia's exposure and the media coverage the scandal got. I know you're a reasonable person, Rosie. If in less than 3 months after that, we're seen together in a relationship, what do you think would happen?"

"Oh" She seemed to have completely calmed down at that. Nobody would want to be given a title like that, ever. It'd ruin their chances at anything else, at least in the state.

I went on, "I was trying to put a lock on my emotions. I thought maybe, if I could put distance between us, maybe it'll all fade away."

"Looks like it didn't, though, because you're here now," She said, a girlish smile covering her face. That was cute.

I laughed at that. "Well, when I left work on Monday, it was because I was jealous. With the way you were relating with Nick, I mean. Smiling and cracking jokes with him, and I thought,'we've worked together for over 5 years, and we never did that'. I was jealous you were never that free with me. All those feelings kept building up, and I felt miserable. When I couldn't take it anymore, I left to see a friend and he gave me a piece of advice I'm now willing to take." 

I paused for dramatic effect, and she looked up at me, anxious to hear what I had to say. "A secret relationship."

"Huh?"

I repeated myself. "A secret relationship. All my other relationships had always been in the societal spotlight, given my position, but for your sake, I'm willing to try something different if that's what it'll take to be with you. I want to be with you, Rosie. Every minute I spend away from you feels like torture. I want to hold you, breathe you in, feel you, own you. I want you to be mine." There, all of it is out. I added, "If you'll be mine."

It took me two days, a million emotions, and a couple of staff pictures in my gallery to know that I never wanted to be apart from this woman ever again. I'll put in the work, do whatever it takes to have and protect her.

I was so caught up in my own emotions that I didn't hear her voice, didn't see her until her lips were planted on mine, and her arms were around my neck. I parted my lips in surprise and held her waist. If I thought our first kiss felt nice, I was mistaken. This was heaven.

She pulled away first, then looked up at me with eyes full of love and admiration. "Yes David, I'll be yours."